[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 612 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 612

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to develop and implement an annual plan for outreach 
          regarding veterans benefits, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 26, 2001

Mr. Feingold (for himself and Mr. Bond) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs to develop and implement an annual plan for outreach 
          regarding veterans benefits, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National I Owe You Act''.

SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ANNUAL PLAN FOR OUTREACH 
              REGARDING VETERANS BENEFITS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
        includes acting as a principal advocate for veterans in order 
        to assure that veterans receive the benefits to which they are 
        entitled as a result of service to the nation.
            (2) The Veterans Benefits Administration of the Department 
        of Veterans Affairs is responsible for the timely and accurate 
        distribution of benefits to veterans and their dependents.
            (3) Only 2,600,000 of the 24,000,000 living United States 
        veterans are receiving benefits through the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs.
            (4) There may be veterans entitled to veterans benefits who 
        are not aware of their entitlement to such benefits.
            (5) The Veterans Benefits Administration needs to take more 
        aggressive actions to ensure that all veterans are aware of the 
        veterans benefits to which they are entitled.
            (6) The State of Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs 
        recently initiated a program that permits veterans to apply at 
        one location for benefits such as health care, disability 
        compensation, education, and job training.
    (b) Annual Plan.--Subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 531. Annual plan for outreach regarding veterans benefits
    ``(a) Development.--The Secretary shall, on an annual basis, 
develop a plan for the outreach activities of the Department regarding 
veterans benefits during the year covered by such plan.
    ``(b) Plan Elements.--(1) Each plan under this section shall 
include the following elements:
            ``(A) A program to encourage veterans to apply for veterans 
        benefits.
            ``(B) A program to identify veterans entitled to veterans 
        benefits who are not currently receiving such benefits.
            ``(C) A program to notify veterans of any modifications to 
        veterans benefits programs.
            ``(D) Such other programs or elements as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate.
    ``(2) A plan under this section for a year may consist of an update 
of the plan under this section for the previous year, taking into 
account changes in circumstances over time.
    ``(c) Consultation.--In developing a plan under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall consult with directors of the veterans agencies of the 
States, appropriate representatives of veterans service organizations 
and other veterans advocacy groups, and such other persons as the 
Secretary considers appropriate.
    ``(d) Implementation.--The Secretary shall implement each plan 
developed under this section.
    ``(e) Veterans Benefits Defined.--In this section the term 
`veterans benefits' means benefits for veterans under the laws 
administered by the Secretary.''.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 5 of that title is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 530 the following new item:

``531. Annual plan for outreach regarding veterans benefits.''.
                                 <all>